A higher intake of red meat and poultry is associated
with a higher risk of diabetes among Chinese Singaporeans, a study
by Duke-NUS Medical School has confirmed.
Measuring the link between diabetes risk and red meat
in a Southeast Asian context for the first time, the Singapore
Chinese Health study looked at the different types of red meat
consumed, the different styles of cooking used, as well as the
different risk profiles of Singaporean consumers.
In the study — published on Aug 22 in the American
Journal of Epidemiology — researchers discovered that consumers
with a higher intake of red meat had a 23 per cent increase in risk
of diabetes compared to those with a lower intake, while those who
consumed more poultry had a 15 per cent increase in risk of
diabetes.
On average, participants with a higher red meat intake
consumed about 50g of the protein daily (about four times the
amount consumed by those who ate the least red meat) while those
who consumed more poultry ate about 36g of the protein daily (about
six times the amount consumed by participants who ate the least
poultry).
The team also discovered that a form of dietary iron
called heme-iron, present in greater amounts in red meat and
poultry than fish and shellfish, is accountable for the increase in
diabetes risk.
Heme-iron is carried by the richly pigmented,
oxygen-binding protein myoglobin, which acts as a source of energy
for the muscles.
The more myoglobin present in the muscle, the redder,
or darker, the meat. Myoglobin or heme-iron is found in larger
concentrations in red meat — such as beef, lamb and pork — as well
as chicken drumsticks and thighs. Fish, on the other hand, is
mainly white meat.
“We don’t need to remove meat from the diet entirely,”
said Professor Koh Woon Puay, the senior author of the study, at a
media briefing yesterday. “Singaporeans just need to reduce the
daily intake, especially for red meat, and choose chicken breast
and fish or shellfish, or plant-based protein food and dairy
products, to reduce the risk of diabetes.”
Her team’s findings are in line with overseas studies
done on diabetes risk, notably one by Harvard researchers in 2011
that found a daily 100g serving of red meat increased the risk of
adult onset diabetes by 19 per cent. The same study revealed that
substituting red meat with nuts, low-fat dairy products and whole
grains was associated with a significantly lower risk.
The Singapore study involved about 45,000 Singaporean
Chinese citizens and permanent residents aged 45 to 74.
They were recruited between 1993 and 1998 and given a
food frequency questionnaire on 165 food items and beverages.
Participants were then interviewed at six-year
intervals, up until 2010, on their health status — or up until the
point they had diabetes.
During the study, diabetes was identified among some
5,200 individuals.
On the ethnicity of the study’s participants and
whether the results were applicable to other ethnic groups, Prof
Koh said: “One of our limitations was that our study cohort was all
of Chinese descent, but this is also a strength, as we know the
findings are not affected by culture or genes.
“Our research is also consistent with other Western
findings, so I’ve no reason to believe that Malays and Indians will
have different results.”
Using samples from the same study, Professor Koh is
currently conducting further research to determine the relationship
between diabetes risk and other chemicals found in red meat.
The study was supported by the National Research
Foundation Singapore under the Clinician Scientist Individual
Research Grant, administered by the Ministry of Health, and the
United States’ National Institutes of Health.
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